It has been well documented that conventional shopping carts of the kind typically found in supermarkets, department stores or other such stores where consumers select goods from in-store shelving and displays, are contributory in injuries and in some cases deaths of children who are seated or otherwise riding in the carts. For example, in February 1999, the Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma reported that, according to Dr. Gary Smith of Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, the emergency room staff there was attending to 1–2 cases of shopping cart accidents per week. Dr Smith reported that more than half the accidents were due to children standing in the carts while reaching or grabbing for something on a shelf. A 1999 report from the Brain Injury Association of Oklahoma noted that some carts tip over too easily due to their design—if a cart's handle is located too far back from the basket it can create a significant instability, especially with a child in the seat. The tendency for carts to tip over sideways is due to “a narrow wheelbase and a high center of gravity.”
Most grocery stores, supermarkets and other large retail outlets provide shopping carts for their customers. Typically, a “conventional” shopping cart (note FIG. 5 and the text below for a more detailed description) includes a support frame supported above the ground by a base that supports caster assemblies. A rack or other package supporting member is generally pivotally supported by forward portion of the base, and a basket is secured to the support frame of the shopping cart by hooks at the upper rear portion of the basket, so that the basket is cantilevered from the support frame.
The handle of the “conventional” shopping cart allows the shopper to stand behind the cart while pushing or pulling, and steering, the cart on the casters. Shopping carts are generally used for transporting goods to be purchased by a shopper walking through and shopping in a market or other retail establishment.